AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine’s unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percent in May to 4.5 percent, state Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said Tuesday.

May’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted figure is the same as it was in May 2006. The national unemployment rate last month was also 4.5 percent, the Labor Department said.

Fortman said that while employment in Maine declined slightly between April and May, total employment rose by 3,700 over the year.

Poor spring weather is probably to blame for less-than-expected seasonal employment gains between April and May, particularly in the leisure and hospitality services, retail trade and construction industries, Fortman said.